CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: I’M A LITTLE SCARED

Lan Irving was briefly bewildered, then slightly turned her body to create a distance between herself and Ivan Yardley, and with a smile, said, "Mr. Yardley’s technique at wooing is really quite clumsy."

Ivan Yardley wasn’t angry, he smiled instead, and then took out a business card from his suit pocket, handed it to her, and said, "Change your mind anytime and come find me, I’ll be waiting."

As Ivan Yardley left, he crossed paths with Faye Xavier.

Faye Xavier pretended not to see him and went straight to Lan Irving’s side, frowned, and asked her, "How come you’re with him?"

Lan Irving lowered her eyes and said blandly, "Ran into him, just chatted a bit."

Faye Xavier: "Better not associate with such unserious people."

Lan Irving stood up, and softly said to him, "Got it."

Following Faye Xavier for a couple of steps, she added, "You and he are pretty alike in some aspects."

Faye Xavier immediately frowned discontentedly, "How so? Is he as good-looking as me?"

Lan Irving: "Flirting everywhere you go."

Upon hearing this, Faye Xavier couldn’t help but laugh, "I don’t want to end up like Master Shane, getting tied down by a simple salad before tasting all the delicacies of the world."

With that mentioned, Lan Irving’s expression changed subtly, she changed the subject saying, "I’ll go back to rest first."

"Alright, good night, I should probably go find my own retreat of tenderness too."

It was eleven at night.

Audrey Sutton got so engrossed in chatting that she lost track of time, and Flora Lane was telling ghost stories, making Audrey Sutton a bit scared, yet she was so curious that she couldn’t help but listen.

"It’s late, stop playing with your phone and go to sleep." Shane Warner spoke in a light tone, a commanding voice, like a parent managing a child staying up late.

"In a moment."

After hearing the end of Flora Lane’s story, Audrey Sutton finally put down her phone.

While Shane Warner was still awake, she hurriedly ran to the bathroom and quickly returned to the bed.

At this moment, inside and outside the room was silent, Audrey Sutton found that the quieter it got, the harder it was to fall asleep.

She closed her eyes, urging herself to sleep, but her mind wouldn’t stop recalling the eerie stories Flora Lane had just told.

She occasionally glanced at the window, fearing she might unwittingly see a silhouette.

After lying there for about half an hour, just as she felt drowsy, a "thud" sound was heard.

The sound came from the window closest to her, as if something had fallen.

The noise wasn’t loud, but it sent Audrey Sutton’s nerves into a tense state.

Her mind conjured up thoughts of someone committing a murder, the body falling and hitting the hull with a sound.

The more she thought about it, the more her back chilled, and she turned to look at the bed, hesitantly and softly calling him: "Shane Warner? Are you awake?"

Shane Warner was indeed asleep, albeit lightly, and the moment Audrey Sutton called, he awoke, sat up, and asked her, "What’s wrong?"

Seeing he was awake, Audrey Sutton felt relieved and then, somewhat sheepishly, said, "I’m a bit scared."

Shane Warner was silent for two seconds, sighed a bit wearily, moved over, then patted the empty half of his bed, and softly said to her, "Come sleep here."

Audrey Sutton stared at the empty space beside him for a moment, hesitated, and then heard him say, "I’m not interested in your undeveloped figure."

"Who’s undeveloped!"

Shane Warner ignored her, turning to sleep on his side.

Audrey Sutton sat on the sofa for a bit more, glanced at the pitch-black window outside, and her mind involuntarily conjured scenes from ghost movies. Slowly, she dragged her quilt, went to lie down in the empty space beside him.

Once settled in, she found it even harder to fall asleep.

Too excited to sleep.

The man she yearned for day and night lay just beside her pillow, the thought alone made her blush, her heart racing.

It was still and quiet all around; even with his back to her, she could hear his steady breathing.

She couldn’t sleep but dared not move recklessly, just lying there with her eyes open, looking around.

It seemed that with him beside her, all her previous fears vanished, replaced by a sense of security.

About half an hour passed, Audrey Sutton still hadn’t fallen asleep, and she turned to look at the back of his head.

Wondering if he had fallen asleep yet?

While thinking, she kicked off her quilt.

Once, twice, and thrice.

Her quilt successfully slid from the bed to the floor.

Lying there for a few seconds, she slowly moved herself closer to him.

Her movements were slow, light, and cautious.

When her back barely touched his, she stopped, then carefully pulled his quilt up over herself.

Successfully burrowing into his blanket, she finally closed her eyes in contentment, smiling.

Shane Warner opened his eyes only to move his eyeballs slightly her way, then closed them again.

Upon hearing her breathing stabilize, Shane Warner reached to move the quilt more snugly over her.

Maybe she mistook him for the big bunny plushie in her room, because as he was drifting off again, she, who had her back to him, turned and clung to him with both arms and legs.

He, being a nearly thirty-year-old man and sharing a bed with a woman for the first time, struggled to resist such temptation. The soft, small body clinging to him almost made him entertain indecent thoughts.

At dawn, Shane Warner got up, sat by the window, and lit a cigarette.

He hadn’t slept well through the night.

Perhaps he was accustomed to sleeping alone, coupled with his naturally light sleep, making even the slightest movement cause him to wake, while Audrey Sutton was not one to lie still, frequently moving her hands, legs, or resting her head on his abdomen...

He was amazed at how she managed to sleep like a log, like practicing martial arts all night.

As the sky lightened, Audrey Sutton slowly opened her eyes, groggily looking at the man smoking by the window.

Suddenly waking up, she sat up from the bed, lifted the blanket immediately, and upon seeing her nightgown still intact, she sighed in relief.

"Having an erotic dream?" Shane Warner snuffed out his cigarette, teased seeing her series of reactions.

Audrey Sutton’s face turned red, not daring to recall the embarrassing scenes in her dream, stubbornly replying, "Think I’m like you? Scumbag!"

"Lay off the dirty cartoons, your mind’s all cluttered with filth."

"That applies to you!" Audrey Sutton glared at him, muttered under her breath, slipped into her slippers, and sneaked into the bathroom.

Seated on the toilet, she still reminisced about those dream images, for a moment wishing they were real.

Yet recalling Shane Warner’s irritating demeanor quickly squashed such thoughts.

The wedding was scheduled in the morning, so Audrey Sutton didn’t continue to sleep, grabbing her dress and rushing to her best friend’s room to dress up.

Shane Warner changed into a suit and headed out, running into Arthur Sutton coming from the other end of the corridor.

Arthur Sutton smiled and nodded at him, asking, "Where’s Audrey?"

"Went to her friend’s room for makeup."

Arthur Sutton chuckled affectionately and said, "She’s loved being a fashionista since she was little. Let’s go wait downstairs."

"Alright, I’ll send her a message."

While Shane Warner was downstairs chatting with Arthur Sutton, he saw Audrey Sutton descending the stairs wearing a lilac strapless gown.

The dress was form-fitting, highlighting her body’s curves, the hem had a slit, and with each step down the stairs, her fair, slender leg was just faintly visible.

She and her friends must have intentionally coordinated, all wearing skirts of similar hues.

Barry Barrett in a spaghetti-strap dress, Flora Lane in a backless outfit, and Seraphina Vaughn in a mermaid gown.

As these four beauties descended, quite a few men had their eyes glued to them.

Seeing those men’s shining eyes, Shane Warner couldn’t help but frown, rising to walk toward Audrey Sutton.